Head of Digital Programmes

Job overview

Reporting to the Chief Digital Information Officer, LYPFT, the Head of Digital Programmes is responsible for designing, developing and delivering a number of strategic Digital projects and programmes, across Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Leeds Community Health NHS Trust, supporting delivery of both Trust’s digital strategies where collaboration is key.

Ultimately the post holder will ensure both Trusts exciting portfolio of Digital projects and programmes deliver benefits to our patients and staff. The post-holder will be part of the LYPFT Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) leadership team.

The highest level of communication and interpersonal skills will be required to present and receive highly complex, sensitive and highly contentious information, to a wide range of stakeholders across both organisations with possibly strong opposing views in a formal setting where there are significant barriers to acceptance and change.

The post holder will have the ability to lead and drive strategic business change/ transformation and use appropriate skills to ensure benefits are identified and realised.

Please note this position is open to applications from internal LYPFT, LCH, and West Yorkshire ICB colleagues only.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder is responsible for how an idea or opportunity is taken through a project or programme into to a live service and enabling the benefits that are delivered from this change.

The post holder will be responsible for the mechanisms to initiate a project, the processes and procedures to run a project safely to defined standards, but without creating delays to realising the benefits.

The post holder is responsible for making sure projects have the patient at the heart, and that staff who work within the portfolio are happy, motivated and driven to improve patient outcomes.

The post-holder must understand portfolio, programme and project management and have the ability to make balanced and reasonable decisions. The post-holder will work closely across LYPFT and LCH with the other DDaT senior managers and their teams, to ensure all projects and programmes are integrated and complimentary.

The post-holder will share and promote the values of both Trusts and DDaT and ensure it is outward facing, patient focussed and modern in its approach.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Provide the strategic lead for the implementation of digital change and technologies with a combined approach to collaborative working across the Trusts.
• To develop a digital portfolio with supporting processes and governance needed to make collaboration and the targeted initiatives a success
• Champion digitally-enabled, clinical change over ‘technical solutions’.
• Provide leadership to deliver high quality project and programme delivery.
• Ensure all aspects of collaborative portfolio service delivery is aligned and contributes to both Digital Strategies ensuring all projects have identified benefits and that these are delivered as part of the project implementation.
• Be responsible for all escalated issues within own area and liaise directly with other teams and vendors to resolve.
• Develop a Virtual Digital Portfolio Office to deliver added value to services across both Trusts.
• Be responsible for communication to both Trusts, ensuring the organisation is fully informed of the programme and how it will improve patient outcomes.
• Demonstrate the Digital Services values and be accountable for own attitude and behaviour.
• Responsible for developing all project and programme delivery, making project change a positive experience.
• Responsible for managing the demand for programmes/projects, challenging and prioritising accordingly to ensure the best use of available resources.
• Robustly challenge programme/project slippage and secure recovery action plans with assigned accountabilities.
• Resolve bottlenecks and blockages in the critical path of the designated programmes/ projects.
• Manage potentially highly complex and politically sensitive relationships.
• Responsible for generating and analysing highly complex information to ensure where a range of options, and the implications of each of these, have to be considered in order to make informed decisions are made regarding programme/project delivery.
• Ensure that inter-dependencies between projects are identified, mapped and monitored and ensure the sequencing of changes is clearly described.